83. By the 1990s, cheerleaders were athletes, and Varsity was big business. Over the year cheerleading has continued to gain popularity internationally, especially within the Chine, Columbia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In 2007 The Cheerleading World opened up to foreign teams, where an astonishing 38 foreign teams came from 15 countries. By Olson estimate, there are over a 100,000 more cheerleaders abroad in addition to the 1.5 million in America. This unexpected incline in participants demonstrates cheerleading’s potential reach and influence as an athletic activity within schools and communities internationally.

Cheerleading teaches critical life skills like teamwork, discipline and communication. It has always conducted several competitions conducted annually through several school sponsored and all-star competitions. The most popular all-star competition is Cheerleading Worlds which is also conducted annually. Furthermore, Cheerleading gained real international exposure when the Hollywood movie “Bring it On” was released which featured the intense competitive nature of the sport. Thus introducing and encouraging those interested to compete technically and competitively all over the world. Apart from grabbing an international reach, cheerleading has many other advantages that benefit those that participate within it. The social, mental and health benefits attached to cheerleading have been transparently observed through its ability to largely open up a student’s societal range as it is a group based activity thus, enabling children to increase their self-assurance issues and leadership abilities. Cheerleading is also known to decrease the likelihood of depression and/or anxiety. If cheerleading carries out most benefits and requirements of a sport, should it not be allowed to be considered a sport? There has been an ongoing debate on the negative effects of those who suffer injuries from cheerleading. Cheerleading injuries are becoming more and more common, and it is largely due to the fact that cheerleaders have to raise the stakes in order to beat out the competition. 96% of concussions are stunt related and 60% of total injuries are also stunting related Overall, cheerleading also accounts for 65% of all female sports injuries. However, adding cheerleading to the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA’s) list of recognized sports could improve cheerleaders’ safety. It would maintain up-to-standard regulation for coaches and cheerleading squads, and bring more attention to these concerning injury statistics. Bearing in mind, the technicalities and skills required for sports, injuries are prone to occur. Another repetitive issue within cheerleading that has discouraged participants has been bullying. This creates major trust issues, not just within friendships in the team but while actually performing routines as well, as they may not trust their bases to catch them because they may intend on trying to hurt their flyer. The intimidation and/or harassment can have severe mental and occasionally even physical repercussions. Bullying is not the only concern for most parents and students who want to participate though. Cheerleading like a lot of other sport extorts a lot of expenses from routine equipment to costumes. According to a national average being part of a high school cheer team, it would cost anywhere be